Lord, Teach Us to Pray

By James Sperry

Editor’s Note: Quite often I am blessed to be in the Word with my church family on Sunday. One particular Sunday as Pastor James introduced Luke 11:1-13 he asked us to write down three things: (1) Remember to pray; (2) Remember to pray continuously, and (3) Remember to pray continually. Then he shared what the Lord laid upon his heart about these few, powerful verses in the Bible. He reminded us that prayer is how we talk to God and the Bible is how God talks to us. He emphasized that all of God’s words and everything He wants us to know is “right there”, in the Bible. And as we can see from these verses at the beginning of Luke 11 we are taught “how” to pray from the very “Living Word” Himself. It was a great message and I thank God for using this humble man to teach us what He wants us to know. But that is not the best part! The best part is how honored we were to hear how James “practiced what he preached” in his journal as he wrote this prayer. I hope that you are inspired to be more specific and sincere in your prayer life as you read what James shared with us. ~Pamela Rose

Luke 11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

God, I will stand before a listening people tomorrow, holding Your Word in my hands. I will read Your Word aloud and then teach it. God, I will do it all saying that this is what God’s Word says and what God wants for us. And because I will do just that, everything I say will reflect You and who You are – I will be saying Your name. What a fearful and awesome thing! May I tremble.

And so, may the words of my mouth be in awe of Who You are, rightly reflecting Your character, Your reputation. May I not embarrass You. 

And we look forward to the full realization of Your kingdom and the day we will sit in Your kingdom with Jesus, celebrating together that Your kingdom has come! Your ways, Your rule will permeate every moment of every day. May we live that way now as we wait – living according to Your ways, laying aside our will and seeking to do Your will. 

And all we need as we wait is what You wisely supply. We do not need riches. We need only that which is needed. We need You. Satisfy us with Your great love! May we not seek satisfaction from that which so easily fades away.

And God, I need help being a forgiving person, ready – always – to forgive. May I not take for granted that I have been so richly forgiven! May Calvary rejoice always that we stand forgiven and be always quick to forgive. Oh God, may this help keep us from sin. Yes, Your grace abounds and Your mercy is more, but may we not then treat sin lightly. May we not sin! But when we do, may we run and not hide, but run to You for forgiveness and to be cleansed. 

May we be aware of temptation. Sometimes these are good things, things that slowly and easily could become an idol, something to value more than You. Oh, how easily satisfied I become with worthless things compared to You! Keep me, keep us away from these temptations that are so overwhelming, more than we can bear! But I do not want to act like I do not need Your help with lesser or smaller temptations. I need You every hour!

About the Author

James Sperry is a teaching Pastor at Calvary Community Church in North Olmsted, Ohio. Though his style is casual and comfortable, he is not shy to point out the importance of sound doctrine. He is a student of the Bible as evidenced in the Scriptural truths that he shares regularly with the church that he loves. James lives in Northeast Ohio with his wife and two daughters. He is also blessed to share his home with his mother-in-law.